Facebook finally gets it with new, simpler privacy controls

Facebook hasn't made many friends recently with its constantly eroding privacy …

Facebook has introduced its newly overhauled privacy controls, and most critics should be pleased this time around. The company noted during a press conference Thursday that the site today is very different from how it was when it first started in 2004, admitting that the privacy controls had grown into something of a Frankenstein monster as the company kept adding on features. Thanks to feedback from users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, Facebook has completely revamped its offerings and has begun slowly rolling out the change to users.

One thing Facebook has made clear is that the privacy changes apply to all content retroactively as well as new products going forward. There's now one control (found by going to the Account menu and then Privacy Settings) that allows users to make all of their content—photos, contact info, wall postings, etc.—available to only friends, friends of friends, or everyone. If users want to customize those settings on a more granular basis, they can, but that's no longer required if users want to just make one click and be done with it.

Facebook has also added a separate page for controlling your directory information—essentially letting you decide how easy or hard you want to make it for other Facebook users to find you. Through this page, you can control who can search for you on the site based on the three aforementioned tiers (friends, friends of friends, or everyone). The same will apply to who can send you friend requests, who can send you messages, who can see your friend list, who can see your current city and hometown, and so on.

Here, there are certain settings that are not set to the highest privacy setting by default—at a press conference announcing the changes, Zuckerberg said the company thinks it's important for all Facebook users to be able to perform a search for all other Facebook users, because how else will your friends find you? However, users who choose to hide from the world are welcome to do so.

Finally, Facebook has made it much easier for users to opt out of its "Platform," which is what third-party apps and websites use to connect to information on your profile. If you choose to turn it off, all applications will be off and any data they may have collected from your profile will be deleted. Facebook has also changed the information screen displayed when you add new apps—no longer does it simply state that you're handing over all your information to a third party. Instead, the app will show you exactly what information it wants to use from your profile, allowing you to have a better understanding of what you're handing over when you add new apps to your account.

As a veteran Facebook user, I can say that the new settings seem simplified while at the same time allowing granular control if I want it. When I have counseled friends and family on how to change their settings in the past, I have had to walk them through a complex process, and the one- (or two-) click process for most profile settings will be a very welcome change for many users.

The Center for Democracy & Technology and the American Civil Liberties Union of California both seemed to agree. "Despite all rumors to the contrary, privacy is not dead, it is on its way to a comeback in the form of simplified controls and better policies," CDT President Leslie Harris said in a statement.

"After months of privacy-failing moves, Facebook is finally friending privacy again," ACLU Technology and Civil Liberties Policy Director Nicole Ozer said. "We hope that Facebook will learn from this recent round of privacy problems and going forward, will keep its principles and not just its pocketbook in mind."

Zuckerberg told the press that the company has learned a serious lesson in recent months. "Don't mess with the privacy stuff for a long time!"he exclaimed. Zuckerberg also said that the company listened to feedback from lawmakers, privacy groups, and users themselves as it worked on the changes. Facebook has also updated the privacy guide on its site and plans to roll out a message at the top of users' home pages in order to communicate the changes.